


Electricutie: The Origin

by Summer_Leah98



Series: Electricutie [1]
Category: Electricutie
Genre: Ariana grande song, Multi, ariana grande - Freeform, the way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-21 04:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 16,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13733019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Summer_Leah98/pseuds/Summer_Leah98
Summary: Shelby discovers that she has the power to harness electricity. She's recruited by Avalanche to attend the Academy for Enhanced Adolescents, but in order to stay, she has to prove her abilities. As if that wasn't enough drama, the Green Devil is causing trouble left and right. Will Shelby prevail? Find out, in Electricutie: The Origin!In other words, really self-inserty, wish-fulfillment goodness! Enjoy! Or don't.





	1. Morgan Family Breakfast

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty, so, this is chapter one of Electricutie: The Origin. I've been dreaming about making a comic starring myself in high school since... well... high school. I actually did write another very self-inserty story about myself on here called "The Winter Soldier," which is like a fanfiction parody of "The Nutcracker" that I've yet to finish (I mean, I started it two years ago... not sure if it will ever get done at this point.) ANYWAYS! Electricutie was an alter ego I came up with in 2012, and in 2017, her story really came to life. This specific story is just a basic origin story that I've divided into three parts. I've also drawn a comic for this story, which you can read on my Weebly site, electricutie.weebly.com, or on Facebook at facebook.com/electricutieandherfriends. I also sell stickers there, so IF YOU'RE INTERESTED... *wink wonk*
> 
> The characters in this chapter are based off my family. Well, an idealized version of my family from five years ago, but my family nonetheless. 
> 
> It was also HEAVILY INSPIRED by Winx Club at first, but now it's drifted away from those roots. 
> 
> Okay, I'm done now. Have fun with this, everyone.

My name is Shelby Morgan.

I'm fifteen years old. Until last Saturday, I led a normal life. I was homeschooled and living in San Diego with my mother and father, two sisters, a brother, and two dogs. 

That Saturday started off normally. My mom repeatedly called me downstairs to join her and the rest of my family for breakfast. Had I not been reading comic books the entirety of the previous night, I would have joined them the first time she called. And maybe I wouldn't have dozed off at the table. This happened a lot.

"Shelby, why weren't you sleeping last night?" asked my mom, Norma, taking a break from making an omelette to question me.

Norma is middle aged and has dyed blonde hair in a quick ponytail most of the time, and usually has a coffee in her hand. She's pretty cool. Sometimes. The other times, her overprotective side comes out, and that's the main reason she's homeschooled me and the rest of my siblings. 

"She was reading comic books all night!" shouted Bailey, my youngest sister. 

Bailey is the (mostly) figurative baby of the family at the age of nine and has bubblegum pink hair and ducky slippers she will never take off, no matter how much you ask. On top of all that, she's a master tattletale. I don't know what I did to make her have a vendetta against me, but she's out to get me for basically every little thing I do wrong. So... she's fun to be around.

"And you're nine years old and still sit in a high chair." I mumbled, half-hoping she'd hear me, and half-hoping she'd miss it.

My mom's face turned inquisitive. "What comics are you reading? Batman? Spider-Man? Starlight?" she chuckled.

This isn't the first time we've had this conversation. She's seen my comic book collection before. I showed it to her myself. I think it was around a month ago that I sat her down and gave a little presentation on my favorite heroes. My favorite of them all is Starlight. 

Not much is known about Starlight's origin, considering that she's a real person and wasn't created by Stan Lee or anything like that. That hasn't stopped comic book authors from capitalizing off of her battles with theories on how she came into being. While there's a lot of different stories about her origins (being born that way, being bitten by a radioactive bug, just being super rich and having access to incredible technology and weapons), the facts of the matter are that she has a wide range of light and sun based powers. She can fly, turn into a beam of light, and harness energy from the sun and shoot laser beams. Everyone knows not to mess with her. 

Despite her being very much real, there is still a lot of speculation that her and other superheroes are frauds. Maybe because they've never seen an altercation between a hero and a villain before, maybe because they can't wrap their heads around the logic of having powers like sunbeams, or maybe they just think the whole thing is silly. Unfortunately, my own mother is one of those people. She thinks Starlight is just as fictional as Batman, or Spider-Man, or whoever else she manages to remember without butchering their names.

"Hey, those are based on true events!" I argued. Then realizing where I went wrong, I added, "At least Starlight is."

"Didn't she decimate an entire grocery store when fighting Doctor Nightmare?" questioned my other younger sister, Kaitlyn, with one eyebrow raised.

Kaitlyn is thirteen and has brunette hair. Her favorite color is orange, and she has a vast collection of headbands; you can never catch her wearing the same one on two separate days, even in the same month. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn is quite the skeptic. I think she believes in superheroes, but doesn't think too highly of them, due to all the collateral damage they inadvertently cause. When we were little, she always did prefer playing with ponies over superhero action figures. 

"Okay, that wasn't her fault, and you know it!" I declared, trying to defend my hero.

My mother sighed. She was disappointed in me for focusing so much of my energy on this. I could see it in her jade green eyes. "Shelby, you really should sleep at night. Especially if you're going to be working the pharmacy today."

Ah, yes. The pharmacy. If you were wondering what us Morgans do besides churning our own butter and gloating about how much smarter we are than our public schooled peers, we all work together in the family business, the Morgan Pharmacy. My dad started the business after he and some colleagues at the hospital he used to work at decided to break free. Not only are we a pharmacy, but we sell all different types of snacks, including my mom's homemade cookies. 

"Here are your tasks for the day," stated the booming voice of my father, Richard. 

Richard is two weeks older than my mom, and has brunette hair, square framed glasses, and has a very loud voice, but he almost never uses it. I think out of everyone in my family, he and his son and namesake, and myself, are the only ones who really care about superheroes. I'd talk to my dad more about my comics, but he's usually so busy with his work stuff that when he has a free moment, he'd probably rather be watching football. 

"Bailey, you'll be welcoming customers," my dad droned. 

"No one can resist buying from someone as cute as me!" Bailey squeaked. This was true. One of the facts of life is that Bailey is objectively very cute, and upon seeing her, customers at the pharmacy tend to buy a bunch of my mom's cookies. If you dress her in a cow costume, she would quite literally be a cash cow. 

"Richard, you'll stock items," added my father.

"Aw yis," exclaimed my younger brother, Richard II. 

Richard II is eleven, and is basically a carbon copy of my father. They share so many traits. Brunette hair? Check. Deep voice? Check, surprisingly enough for an eleven year old boy. An affinity for the sciences? Eureka! I mean, check. He also really likes superheroes, but it's only a casual interest for him. It hasn't consumed his life like it has mine. 

"Kaitlyn, you'll man the phones," my dad continued. 

"Sounds good to me!" Kaitlyn chirped. She always eagerly accepted every task she was given without complaint. Meanwhile, I complained almost every chance I got. I don't think complaining is really that bad if you do the work you're complaining about. And I do it... just not too well. 

"And Shelby will work the register."

Something in me was screaming for help. I've been doing small jobs at the pharmacy practically every day since it opened, and I was sick and tired of working on my weekends while other girls my age went to the mall with their friends. God, how I envied them. They spent five days out of the week seeing their friends and their other peers, and the other two days? They also spent seeing their friends. I almost wish I could call them out for having so much fun. "Hey, that's friend group inequality. You have so many friends, while I have none! You should give me some of your friends to level the playing field a little bit." I could even hold up a protest sign, "I am the 99%, you have 99 friends." Ugh... see? If I had friends, I wouldn't have time to make corny jokes like these. 

But anyways, I had been doing this job for five years, and I simply wasn't going to take it. At least not today. "Actually, I'm going out," I mentioned, meekly, preparing myself for what was coming.

"Out? Where?" my mom interrogated before a realization came to her face. "Shelby, I swear, if you're going to go spy on the Mission Bay High students again--"

"Nice try, Mom. But today's Saturday. No one is even there today," I reassured her. For those who are wondering, those accusations are not without merit. 

I think, as human beings, we've all done things we're not proud of. My thing? Well, one day this spring, out of curiosity, I decided to peek through the fence at the Mission Bay High School cheer practice. Not because I'm a pervert or anything, but because I was really, really, really jealous. 

If being a superhero was the greatest job ever, being a cheerleader was a close second. I know, I've seen all the movies where the villains are cheerleaders, but I refused to believe that all cheerleaders are bad people. Not everything you see on TV is true. However, I believe sports channels are exempt from that, and so every time there's a cheer competition on TV, I tune in and am never disappointed by all the stunts they do, especially when a group of girls tosses another girl in the air. That must feel nice. 

So anyway, I went to the practice and watched from afar, when the cheerleaders noticed me. They approached me, and I tried to be super friendly. At the time, I think they received it very well. They were laughing at everything I said, and I felt really good about myself. I asked them if there was any way a homeschooled girl could get on the squad, and they gave me the coach's number. When I got home and called it, it turned out they had given me the number to a suicide hotline. Looking back on it now, they weren't laughing with me... they were laughing at me. 

I think it's safe to say I learned my lesson about that.

"I'm actually going to the comic book shop! See you guys later!" I shouted as I left the house. It was about time I had a little fun.


	2. Acres of Comics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby goes to the comic book shop and sees her crush, Janell!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Janell is like, the only person in this story who isn't based off a real person. She's actually based off of Jessica Nigri. I have such a crush on her lol. Anyways... yeah. That's who she is.

I was used to weird things happening, but usually they were over quickly, and only mildly interesting, like seeing a bird standing on top of another bird or seeing a mushroom that looks like an eyeball. Nothing really life changing, until I got to the comic book store that Saturday. 

My favorite place in the world was Acres of Comics, the little shop owned by the Acres family on Closeworth Circle, and it was my favorite for three reasons. 

The first, of course, is the extensive range of comic books they have to offer. Every time I went, I would always find something new to bring home with me. If the comic book store doesn't even have a wide selection of comics, why even bother going? 

The second reason is the wide range of other things sold there besides comics. I mean, you can find action figures, trading cards, and even crocheted dolls, which I collect way too many of. 

And the third, are the people who work there, namely Janell Acres, the twenty year old daughter of Ira and Liz Acres, comic book collectors extraordinaire. Heck, I could have gone there without looking at any comic books and just been happy talking to her, because she's amazing. 

Janell is a fashion icon. She has bleached blonde hair shaved on one side with long sideswept bangs and usually wears cyberpunk clothing, which is the style of clothing I wish I could pull off. Or afford. Her job takes her to all of the conventions in the area, including the world famous San Diego Comic Con. Janell goes in cosplay every time, and there's a big book of professional pictures of all her outfits over the years sitting on one of the coffee tables in the shop, which range from human versions of Pokemon, Avatar: The Last Airbender characters except in the Roaring 20's, and practically the entire student body of Hogwarts. Not to mention, she's met a bunch of different people who have worked on all sorts of projects, including some people I've wanted to meet. That girl's always got an interesting story to tell.

I wished my life was like hers. Sometimes, I daydreamed about marrying her so I can go to the conventions with her. I know that I could have probably gone with her if I just simply asked, as well, but I wouldn't have minded marrying her either. I'll shut up about that now.

I walked into the store, and was immediately greeted by Janell herself, who was standing behind the counter with the register. "Hey, Shelby!"

"H-hi, Janell!" I blurted, before scolding myself internally for acting so excited. "How was Comic Con?"

"So awesome! I went as Catwoman!" Janell spoke. She pulled out her phone, the latest model, of course, and showed me a picture of her in a very convincing Selina Kyle cosplay, holding a whip and standing triumphantly on the steps to the convention center. 

My heart skipped a beat. I could never get used to seeing Janell's cosplay pictures. She looked so gorgeous in every one, and I was envious and enamored at the same time. I almost didn't hear her ask me what I was looking for.

"Oh! I was wondering if you had a copy of The Dark Knight Returns," I stated. That was a comic I had been wanting to add to my collection for a while. 

"As a matter of fact, I do!" Janell reached under the counter and pulled out a copy of said book. "It's also the ABC Book of the Month!"

"The ABC what now?" I inquired. 

"Oh, my bad for not explaining. We just started a book club here at the store," Janell elaborated before sliding a flyer with a picture of the cover of The Dark Knight Returns on it. "Meetings are the last Tuesday of each month. You should come!"

As I'm about to answer with an emphatic yes, a car alarm goes off outside the store. 

"Hm, I wonder what happened out there," I muttered.

"I'll go look out the window," Janell offered. 

I, of course, decided to join her, and we were not disappointed by what we saw.

Leaning against the car with the blaring siren was a tall fair-skinned blonde girl with a black bandit mask, wincing in pain. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, and she had green devil horns. The girl was wearing a black minidress with green trim, green gloves, and black thigh high boots with green trim. She also had a black choker with a green devil charm.

Standing before her was another girl, who looked to be around my age, looking triumphant and holding a pole with a giant snowflake on one end. Her skin was light brown, and she had curly brown hair in two pigtails. She wore a one shouldered white belly shirt with an ice blue snowflake on it, a white miniskirt with slits in the sides, with ice blue shorts underneath, white fingerless gloves with blue fur trim, white thigh high socks with blue fur trim, and blue knee high boots. This girl also wore a white choker with a blue snowflake charm. 

Judging by the outfits of these girls, there's only one thing they could be. Superpowered.


	3. Ice Queen and the She-Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby meets Alexandra for the first time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alexandra is based off a friend from high school who basically helped make me who I am today. I was very shy before I met her. 
> 
> The Green Devil was based off the girl who bullied me. It wasn't really a routine thing, it happened once, but I never forgave her. We don't talk anymore. Obviously.

Janell and I nearly peed ourselves in excitement. Even though both of us loved and were fascinated by superheroes, we had never seen a battle up close before, so naturally, our eyes were glued to the events playing out before us. 

The girl in the bandit mask was collecting herself after presumably being thrown into the side of a car, causing the alarm to go off, while the girl carrying the big stick with the snowflake on the end was telling her off.

"Listen, I don't know who you are, but I'm not just gonna let you attack me out of nowhere," she ranted. "I'm a strong woman, and I know how to defend myself. No one messes with Avalanche and gets away with it!" 

Avalanche then began to sashay away, but the girl in the bandit mask wasn't finished yet. She got to her feet and grabbed the pitchfork that materialized in front of her. "So, you wanna play dirty, huh?" she taunted. The girl slammed the bottom of the pitchfork on the ground, and two green demonic looking creatures appeared on either side of her. 

"ATTACK!"

Avalanche looked back, and her face immediately contorted in panic. "NO!" The demons charged at her and pinned her down to the ground, while the bandit mask girl confidently strided over to her and began to gloat.

Watching this really bothered me, and I feel like it's because these girls didn't look like the mighty superpowered individuals that I always saw on TV and in the comic books. I mean, they were dressed like them, and had the cool weapons and everything, but underneath all that? They were just kids like me, and the girl in the bandit mask looked like she was bullying Avalanche. I've only really been bullied once, even though those cheerleaders were pretty sneaky about it, and I would have appreciated if someone had intervened. 

"Oh my God... A real life super fight! Right in front of the comic shop! My parents are going to be ticked if they don't get to see this," Janell panicked. "Shelby! Get my phone off the counter and start recording!" What she didn't know was that I had already left to go stand up for Avalanche. "Shelby?!"

I stormed over to the girls. Nothing much had changed with them. Avalanche was still on the ground being held down by the demon minions, and bandit mask girl was still gloating, drawing the situation out for longer than she had to, when she could have just did what she was planning to do right away. Classic cartoon villainy, am I right?  
I came to a halt (at a safe distance, of course), and shouted, "Hey! Leave her alone!"

Bandit mask girl turned around and gave me the look of utter dismissal. The look the cheerleaders had given me when they first saw me. She groaned and ordered Diablo, who I assumed was one of her minions, to attack me. 

Okay, that was one of the most frightening things I had ever seen in my life, probably even more scary than the time I spilled grape juice on my grandma's carpet as a kid. Unlike that incident, however, I decided not to run this time. If I wasn't going to help Avalanche, then no one would, and I'm certainly glad I did. 

I held out my palm in a stop formation and closed my eyes, bracing for Diablo's impact. A flash of heat went through my hand, and a zapping sound rang in my ears. Upon opening my eyes, the minion was lying on the pavement, incapacitated, and I had no idea how he turned out that way. "I did that?" I whispered. 

"Yaaaaaaaas, queen!" shouted Avalanche, still on the ground and unable to get up, thanks to the other demon. "Get me out of here! You can do it!"

Bandit mask girl stared at me with a look of what I assumed to be disbelief. She clearly wasn't going to act immediately, so thinking fast, I grabbed a squeegee that had been left outside the shop after the windows were cleaned and I beat the other demon away, freeing Avalanche.

"I'm free!" Avalanche declared before grabbing her weapon and turning to the bandit mask girl. "I told you, demon queen. No one messes with Avalanche and gets away with it!"  
"You haven't seen the last of the Green Devil," snarled the villainess. 

Avalanche rolled her eyes. "We'll see about that," she chuckled before aiming her staff at the Green Devil and freezing her solid.

After a minute of awkward silence, Avalanche started talking again. "Wow! She was acting really salty for no reason. I've never done anything to her. I don't even know who she is." She then stopped to glance over at me. "Hey, are you okay?"

That was a hard question to answer at the time. Was I okay? I mean, I was just having a normal day, I wasn't expecting anything even remotely exciting, and next thing I know, I butt into a fight with a superhero and villain! And that was before I found out about my powers! I had my eyes closed at the time, so I didn't know what exactly I did, but I know I did something to immobilize that demon minion. I didn't feel like having an existential crisis in front of Avalanche, so I just settled on, "Oh, I'm fine."

And then I started to freak out. "Oh my God... a superhero? Right in front of me? I must be dreaming!" 

Avalanche rolled her eyes and chuckled, but this time, in a friendly manner. "Girl, you're wide awake." Her stomach growled. "But this superhero is cray cray hungry right now. I'm not from this area. Is there any good food in SoCal?"

"Um, I think there's an In-N-Out Burger down the street," I told her. 

"Sweet! What are we waiting for?" Avalanche cheered. "Let's go!"

I was in disbelief. Did she actually want me to come with her? If the way those cheerleaders behaved towards me was any indication, no one should want that.

Upon asking, she laughed. "Duh, you saved my life! Come on!" Avalanche started walking and I smiled and caught up with her.


	4. Propositions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexandra makes a deal Shelby can't refuse.

We walked down the sunny San Diego sidewalk. The August heat pounded down, but Avalanche and I were walking under some shady trees. 

I was still in disbelief that this super cool hero wanted to eat lunch with me, this weird pale girl who doesn't shave her legs or wear makeup. Since I saved her life, I guess she was just doing this to return the favor. 

"So, the restaurant should be up ahead," I stated calmly.

Avalanche gasped. "Wait! I can't eat in this outfit!"

As I began to ramble on about going back to my house and getting her a change of clothes, considering we're probably the same size, she touched the snowflake charm on the white choker around her neck and in a flash of light, she was in normal clothing: a blue tank top, a white hoodie, black yoga pants, and blue sneakers to be specific. Even her hairstyle changed to a single bun instead of two.

"Whoa! How on Earth did you do that?!" I exclaimed. The only people I heard of that could change outfits instantly were magical girls like Sailor Moon, and they only existed on television... or did they? 

"I'll explain after we get our food!" Avalanche smirked. Although technically, she wasn't supposed to be called Avalanche anymore, since she was in civilian clothing. 

After we entered the restaurant, ordered a mountain of food, and brought said mountain of food to the table, she informed me that her name was actually Alexandra, and that she's been traveling the world over her summer break, her final stop being San Diego. She then asked me my name, and I told her.

"I'm Shelby Morgan," I answered shyly. "Didn't you say you were going to explain that rapid costume change to me?"

Alexandra's face lit up, and she pointed to the white choker on her neck with the snowflake charm dangling from it. "I have this magic choker that lets me transform into Avalanche hella fast. All superheroes have one! Kind of just floats down from the sky once someone gains their full powers."

"So, you don't have to go into a phonebooth to change or anything?" I inquired.

"No way! That would waste so much time!" Alexandra giggles.

At that moment, everything I knew about Starlight just sort of made sense. There was a reason she arrived so fast after a supervillain attack began, and it's because she didn't have to spend 10 minutes getting into her costume. I should have noticed the star choker on her neck earlier. The more you know...

"Anyway, thanks for saving me, girlie!" Alexandra said while eating fries. "If you hadn't come through, I would have lost my Snowflake Staff!"

The Snowflake Staff appeared in my mind, the one I saw today in battle, the one Avalanche was holding. Another one came to memory, one wielded by Wintera, one of the top heroines in the 1980's. Naturally, I brought this similarity up to Alexandra. 

Instantly, upon hearing Wintera's name, Alexandra's expression turned to one of disappointment. "Yes, I know who Wintera is." She sighed, but then managed to psych herself up again. I wonder what that was about. "You should be thinking about your own powers, Shelby! You're amazing!"

I blushed, thinking about the heat I felt in my hand, the zap I heard in my ears, and the unconscious demon laying on the pavement in front of me. Even an hour afterward, I still had no idea how I did that, or even what I did. "Um... what did I do, exactly?"

"You zapped that demon guy with a bolt of electricity!" Alexandra revealed to me. 

Electricity. That's my power. I smiled and fireworks went off in my head. Maybe I wasn't a complete loser. 

"You're a superhero, like me!" Alexandra continued. "I wouldn't have told you about the choker, otherwise. That's a trade secret, you know! You should enroll at the Academy for Enhanced Adolescents!"

"What's that?" I asked. 

"It's a high school for superheroes in St. Petersburg, Florida! You get to learn all sorts of cool things that will help you become a pro crimefighter after you graduate!" Alexandra explained. 

After she mentioned it, I started panicking. I don't know what had gotten into me. My whole life, I had dreamed of joining the ranks of Starlight and Wintera, and now that I had the chance, I was going to throw it away. 

Come to think of it, there was a lot of times that I missed really great opportunities in the past.

One day, I chose not to go to the grocery store with my family, and it turns out that they met Michael Cera! You know, the guy who plays just about every awkward teenage boy in Hollywood? I would kill to get a picture with him. 

And there was another time when I chose not to go on a ride at SeaWorld with my siblings. The ride broke down while they were on it, and they all got front of the line passes for any ride they wanted! Just my luck to have chosen not to go, huh?

Even with those incidents behind me, I obviously didn't learn my lesson.

"Um, I have to go, right now, immediately," I stammered. I stood up and began to walk away from the table, when Alexandra stopped me. 

"Wait!" 

I looked back at the disappointed expression on Alexandra's face. She pulled a scrap of paper and a pen out of her hoodie and wrote something on the scrap before holding it out to me. "Before you go, please take my number. I truly think the Academy is the best place for you. If you're interested... call me."

Hesitantly, I approach her and grab the slip of paper. After one last wistful look at her, I made my escape.


	5. Second Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby has some regrets.

The walk back to my house was depressing. I was already regretting my decision to leave lunch early. It was getting dark out, and I just knew my parents were going to scream at me, a fate I could have avoided if I had just accepted Alexandra's proposition. 

I had entered my house just fine, and had even made it all the way up to the bedroom I shared with my three siblings without any trouble. Still feeling some regret for leaving Alexandra behind, I wracked my brain for all the good reasons to stay home I could find while I searched for a book to read to take my mind off of this whole thing. Much to my dismay, the only books I could find were comic books about superheroes. I never thought at any point that I wouldn't be in the mood to read superhero stories, but that was one of those times!

As I picked up a textbook to read instead, I heard the voice of my mother coming from the doorway. "Shelby, where were you?! We were worried sick!"

I sighed and carried my textbook to my bed, where I collapsed in apathy. "It's been a long day, Mom. I think I'm just going to go to bed."

My mom sighed. "Fine. We'll talk about this tomorrow," she insisted before walking off. 

I buried my face in my pillow in exhaustion. Tomorrow. I didn't really want to deal with tomorrow. My mom was calm at that point, but the next day, I knew she would be livid. I was really regretting saying no to Alexandra. 

Bailey walked in to the room with a stack of textbooks. "Sheeeeeeeelby!" she said, dragging my name out for longer than necessary. "Can you please help me with my homework?"

It's almost as if she couldn't see I was having a mental breakdown. If biology would allow it, I would have sat up and then rotated my head 360 degrees and spoke several octaves lower just to scare her off. Unfortunately, that's impossible, so I just had to resort to being the scary big sister instead of the unholy terror I know I am in my heart. 

I let out a huge groan. "Bailey, I'm really not in the mood right now."

The little girl let out an eardrum bursting scream. "You're the worst sister ever, Shelby! I hate you!" Bailey shrieked before stomping away. 

I repeatedly smashed my head against my pillow. That list of good reasons to stay home was getting even shorter. Mad parents, siblings who only view you as a free tutor. What was next? The dog coming in and peeing all over the floor? 

And get this, that's exactly what happened! Gidget, one of my dogs pranced in and left a big yellow mess everywhere! At that point, I just smushed my head into my pillow and yelled as loud as I could. I had finally realized I was sick of my monotonous life. The virtual school homework, the pharmacy shifts, the overprotective parents, among other things. I was done with it all. 

Being careful not to step in the dog urine, I reached into my bag and pulled out the paper with Alexandra's number on it. I took a deep breath, and slowly dialed the number, not sure if she'd even want to talk to me after running off earlier that day. 

The dial tone sounded, and it started ringing. And ringing. And ringing. I was afraid she'd never pick up, but at the last possible second--

"Hello, who's this?"

"Alexandra! It's me, Shelby, from earlier today! Remember when you said to call you if I was interested?" I asked.

There was silence for a few seconds, then Alexandra's voice again. "Say no more. I'll be right there." She then hung up the phone. 

I breathed a sigh of relief, but was immediately thrusted into panic again, when I realized that she didn't know my address. Frantically, I picked up my phone again and dialed her number, but all I got was the answering machine. 

Understandably, I was furious with myself. How could I have been so stupid as to not have given her my exact location? I was kissing my chances of ever attending the Academy and becoming a successful superhero goodbye when a cool breeze came in from the open window. 

I peered out the window. There was a light snowfall all over the yard, and a girl with a white two piece outfit was standing by the mailbox with a big stick in her hand. A big grin appeared on my face, and I bolted downstairs and out the door to reunite with Avalanche.


	6. My Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby's life changes forever.

Once I got over the fact that I bolted out of my house without even giving my mother an idea of where I was headed off to, a feat never before accomplished by me, I greeted Alexandra. 

"Thank you so much for coming!" I cried. "I'm so sorry I had turned you down earlier. I don't know what got into me!"

"It's okay, Shelby! What matters now is that you've made the choice to accept your powers and do something to help the world with them!" Alexandra smiled.

"Yeah... I guess you're right," I smiled back. I was finally going to make something of myself.

In the distance, I heard the front door to my house slam. I looked back to see my mother and the rest of my family fast approaching. They were all shivering from the snow that was falling on our yard.

"Shelby, who is that? What's going on? Why is it snowing?" my mom interrogated me. Usually, I would be nervous, but I had no fear now. I knew in my heart that Alexandra would explain everything. 

Alexandra pressed the charm on her choker and a bright light emanated from her as she changed back into her civilian clothing. "Ma'am, I'm Alexandra, but I also go by Avalanche."

"You're not Wintera?" my father asked her. 

Alexandra's calm face morphed into an exasperated one. "No, I'm not," she says flatly. "I got in a fight earlier today, but your daughter saved me."

My mother immediately dismissed that. "Shelby? Saved you? I don't even think she can hold her own in a pillow fight!"

My eyes narrowed, and I growled. "Mom! She's telling the truth! First my superhero comics, and now this! Why do you dismiss everything I do? Do you not believe in me or something?" 

Once my rage had dissipated, I was aware that my whole family was staring at me, some in shock, some in fear. "Did I get too angry?" I asked. 

"Shelby, no, that's not it," Alexandra told me. "Sparks were flying off of you."

"What?!" I yelped. I looked at my hands. They felt hot. "Oh man..."

"Shelby? You... have powers?" my mom asked me, her voice quivering. 

Before I could react, she ran over and hugged me. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I never believed that superheroes were real," she told me. "I don't know how this is possible, but I know it is now."

Alexandra cleared her throat. "Um, the reason I'm here is because there's a school in Florida for people like us, and I think Shelby is the perfect candidate to attend," she explained. 

My mother quickly looked over at Alexandra and gasped. "Florida? But... that's so far away!"

I could already tell my mother was about to say no, but at that point, I was too determined to get what I want to let her stop me. "Mom, please let me go," I protested. "I have these powers, and if I have them and don't use them for good, why even have them? This is my destiny."

My mom was silent for a few seconds. I was dying to know what she was thinking. Finally, she said to Alexandra, "You'll make sure she's safe, right?"

"That's my number one priority," Alexandra smiled. 

My mother glanced at me and sighed. "Alright, Shelby. You can go to the school."

I pumped my fist in the air in victory. Finally, something good was happening to me!

"The school year starts in two days, so we have to leave tomorrow morning," Alexandra explained. "In the meantime, I'm going to need a place to crash... so... sleepover?!"


	7. A Whole New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby tours the Academy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This commences part 2 of Electricutie: The Origin! I introduce three new characters in this chapter, who are all based off close friends from high school. Shout out to Angelica (Angela in the story) for helping me find suitable new names to reflect the diverse nationalities of our main characters. Believe me, I needed help. At first, her name was Addison, and then it was Amber, two very white names which are somewhat unfitting for someone who is Filipino. Megan is also Filipino, but I changed her surname from Bennett, to Bui, to Bautista, also with Angelica's help.   
> Enjoy!

"Alexandra! Get up!" I exclaimed. After a long night of doing commonplace sleepover things like making pillow forts and eating more junk food than we could handle, Alexandra was understandably sound asleep on the couch in the living room for several hours, which would have been fine, except we had to leave for the Academy.

"Five more minutes..." she protested, smothering her face into one of the decorative pillows. 

"My destiny can't wait five more minutes, Alexandra!" I told her. "I'm all packed for the Academy. We have to go now!"

"Oh right, that's today!" Alexandra said, springing up from the couch. My new friend stretched, pressed the charm on her choker and transformed into Avalanche. Along with her costume, the Snowflake Staff appeared. "You know how I just showed up at your house last night without even knowing the address?" 

"Yeah?" I asked, very curious as to what her answer would be.

"Well, that's because the Snowflake Staff can also transport people to wherever they need to go," Alexandra explained. "You don't even need to know the address! You just say something like, 'Shelby Morgan's house', and it will take you to the location matching that description!"

"That's awesome!" I exclaimed, before some holes in that logic began to appear to me. "Um... how exactly does it know what you're talking about? Like, there are probably thousands of Shelby Morgans out there. How does it know which one is the right one?"

"I -- I don't know the specifics," Alexandra said, stumbling over her words. "But I do know that it's really cool! Okay, well... I'm ready to go!"

"Wait, I have to say goodbye to my family, first!" I exclaimed. "Mom, Dad, everyone! Get in here!"

Slowly, but surely, my entire family entered the living room. 

"Wait, you're leaving now?" my mother asked. "But... I was going to make breakfast... doesn't Alexandra want to stay for pancakes?"

As Alexandra was about to speak up, I cut in and said, "No time. The sooner I get to school, the better." Yeah, I guess it was a little rude to cut Alexandra off when she clearly wanted pancakes, but nothing can get in the way of my destiny now.

"Oh, okay. I suppose time is of the essence," my father sighed before stretching his arms outwards. "Come here." 

I ran into his arms and gave him a hug. Soon, my whole family joined in.

"Shelby, we really do care about you, and we're going to miss you when you're at school," my Mom explained. "Make sure to try your hardest and accept your failures."

I started shedding tears. You really never know how much your family cares about you until you know you're not going to see them for a while. "I'll contact you guys every day."

Alexandra clears her throat. "Hey, Shelby, if we don't get there soon, we might miss the free snow cones."

The group hug broke up, and I joined Alexandra. 

"Don't worry, Morgans! I'll make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble!" Alexandra chuckled before grabbing my hand and slamming her Snowflake Staff down onto the tile flooring while uttering the words, "The Academy for Enhanced Adolescents".

A light blue aura surrounded us, and in a flash, we appeared at a college campus in St. Petersburg, Florida. Not going to lie, I was pretty disappointed. I mean, this was it? No high-tech looking campus, no super students flying around everywhere, just... this? Maybe her Snowflake Staff did make a mistake. 

"Are we in the right place? This looks like a community college," I stated.

"Yep! This is exactly how I remember it!" Alexandra remarked before grabbing my hand. "Let's go take the elevator."

The two of us walked into the building labeled "Student Services" and entered the elevator. Two buttons, excluding the fire and rescue buttons, of course. 

"So, it's on the second floor?" I asked Alexandra while staring at the buttons.

"It's underground!" Alexandra exclaimed. 

This made me do a double take. An underground school? I guess that makes sense. Wouldn't want all the "normies" figuring out about the school full of young superheroes, now would you?

She pulled an ID card out of her wallet with her picture and her name on it. Alexandra Melisa Green-Cooper, it said on the card. She scanned it in a little card reader inside the elevator, and a panel lifted up near the floor buttons that revealed a button that said "Academy." Now we're getting somewhere. 

Alexandra presses the button, and the next thing I know, the elevator floor begins to separate from the elevator itself and sink downwards. We were now standing on a panel lowering further and further underground. Soon, we were in open air, and the first thing I saw was a big blue futuristic looking castle. 

The panel lowered to the astroturf on the ground, and Alexandra and I both stepped off. The castle looked larger than life from the ground, and right in front of it was a snow cone wagon, with a person handing out snow cones to a line of students. 

"Come on, Shelby. We gotta go to the admissions office. Time's a wastin'," Alexandra told me.

"But, Alexandra, they're giving out snow cones!" I whined with a pout. 

Alexandra sighed. "You're right. I guess we can stop for one." 

We walked over to the wagon and on our way, a group of three girls flagged us down. 

"Oh! Hey guys!" Alexandra cried before turning to me. "These are my roommates from last year, Megan, Val, and Angela... except, there was one more... Jessica, wasn't it?"

"Jennifer, actually," corrected the girl with short black hair and glasses in an all black and white ensemble, whose name I later learned was Megan. "I think she dropped out."

"Well, that makes two of our roommates that didn't make it to sophomore year," muttered the gray haired girl with a pixie cut and eerily pale skin whose name I later learned was Val.

"Don't remind me," sighed the girl with long black hair and a panda headband whose name I later learned was Angela. "I miss Vienna."

"Who's Vienna?" I asked, but apparently that was the wrong question to ask, because when I looked over at Alexandra, she was blinking back tears. 

"Don't ask," Alexandra warned me. When she seemed like she was back to normal, she introduced me to the other girls. 

"Oh lucky you!" Megan exclaimed. "Freshman year is wonderful!"

"Actually, I'm a sophomore," I corrected her. 

Amber clapped her palm down on my shoulder. "Oooh... good luck with that."

"The requirements to attend here are much higher in sophomore year than freshman year. And the only way to meet the criteria is if you've trained here freshman year," Vanessa explained.

I blinked. "Wait, what? Alexandra, is she telling me that you brought me across the country just for a CHANCE to attend the greatest school ever? Like... it's not even guaranteed?!"

Alexandra had an uneasy look on her face. "Um, what are the criteria, Megan?"

Megan began to list the criteria. "Well, the first is obviously having powers or extraordinary abilities."

Alexandra shook me. "See, Shelby? You have powers!"

"The second is to gain full control over your powers," Megan explained before pointing to her choker, a black one with an orange butterfly charm. "In other words, gain the choker that each of us have."

"Oh, that's a piece of cake, Shelby!" Alexandra chuckled. 

"And the third is to prove yourself in combat."

"What?!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "So I have to gain access to this mystical choker thing and engage in fisticuffs with a complete stranger?! I just found out about my powers YESTERDAY!"

"Wow! A late bloomer?" Angela giggled. "I thought Alexandra was the only one!"

"Shut up!" Alexandra groaned. 

"Well, if you're still interested in coming here, I suggest you pay the admissions office a visit," Val informed me.

"That's exactly what we had planned!" Alexandra smiled before grabbing my hand and leading me off. "Come on, Shelby!"

"But... I didn't even get a snow cone."


	8. Super Roomies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby visits her dorm room!

For the next few hours after my trip to the admissions office, Alexandra and I wandered around the campus, and she showed me all of the areas I would be frequenting as a sophomore at the Academy for Enhanced Adolescents. 

One of the most interesting stops was the cafeteria. Don't get your hopes up. It wasn't even a very exciting cafeteria. Just think of your run-of-the-mill high school cafeteria. That's what Alexandra told me it reminded her of anyway. But I was amazed because all the students who were eating lunch seemed like normal kids, like the ones on Hannah Montana or Wizards of Waverly Place. Granted, Miley Stewart and Alex Russo were a pop star and a wizard respectively, but they still acted like normal teenagers. I think that's something a lot of us forget about superheroes, is that they're people, too. 

Our final stop was our dorm room. I was amazed that I managed to snag the same room as Alexandra, but if what they said about there being a couple vacancies in their room was true, then it made sense. I was also amazed Principal Meyerson even let me get as far as applying. From what Megan and the others were saying, it seemed like I had no shot at getting in. But Principal Meyerson said she had hope for me, which is odd. I haven't done anything to prove I'm worthy of attending. 

I guessed that's why she gave me until the Fall Dance to prove myself worthy to stay. 

Alexandra led me to a door in the building labeled Parker Hall, which she told me was the sophomore dorm building. This door had paper cutouts of different characters affiliated with Marvel on the door with each of our names on them. My name was on Phoenix, so that was pretty cool to see. Maybe I should go as her for Halloween! Ooh, I wonder what Halloween is like around here!

When Alexandra used her key to open the door, well, it'd be an understatement to say I was impressed. I've seen dorms in movies, and they looked nothing like this. 

There was a full fledged living room inside, along with a kitchenette and three bedrooms and bathrooms! I'm just happy this school is tuition free, because otherwise, my parents would go bankrupt!

"Alexandra?" I asked.

"Yeah, Shelby?" Alexandra responded. 

"Do you think it's possible that I can gain my full abilities by the Fall Dance?" I asked. 

"Totally! With the amount of power you already have, it'd be a piece of cake to get fully admitted here by Friday," Alexandra smiled. 

I was dumbfounded. "Wait, what? Did you say Friday?"

"Yeah! The Fall Dance is August 16th!" she informed me.

"WHAT?!" I started ranting. "The name "Fall Dance" insinuates that it would be on or after September 21st! That's the first day of fall! This is just ridiculous!"

Alexandra slid her palm over her face. "Oh my god... Shelby, you have so much to learn."

I continued panicking. "August 16th? That leaves me... FIVE DAYS TO PROVE MYSELF!"

"Technically six if you count today!" Alexandra said sheepishly. 

I looked at my hands. They felt cold, like they usually do. No trace of any electric bursts. "I've only ever used my powers once. At this rate, I'll never be able to stay!"

Alexandra patted me on the back and started leading me to my bedroom. "Shelby, you have DAYS to worry about this! Don't stress yourself out before classes even start! Come on, you should look at your bedroom!"

There were two names on the door, Megan's, and mine. I opened the door and I saw a very modest looking dorm room with very high ceilings. Two beds, two dressers, two desks, and... Megan flying around the room using a pair of huge butterfly wings?

"Whoa!" I shouted, alerting Megan to our presence. 

"Oh, hey roomie!" she greeted me before landing gracefully on her feet. Her wings emitted an orange glow and then disappeared. The butterfly choker suddenly made sense. "Welcome to your new home!"

I smiled, hiding the fact that I didn't think I was going to be here long. Megan seems nice, and I didn't want to burden her with my anxiety. 

"If we're going to be roommates, I should probably get to know you a little better!" Megan smiled. "Where are you from? I'm from Arlington, Texas." 

"I'm from San Diego," I told her. 

"Wow, that's all the way across the country!" said a voice coming from behind me. I turned around, and there was Val, except she was somewhat transparent and floating off the ground. "I'm actually from Elgin, which is near Chicago."

"Whoa!" I shouted. "Do you have like, ghost powers or something?"

"Yeah. They call me Phantom," Val said, pointing to her gray choker with a white ghost charm.

"Oh Phantom!" called Angela, crawling into the room on the ceiling. "We're roomies again this year!"

"Fabulous," Val said in a deadpan voice.

"Oh my god... let me guess..." I said to Angela. "Spider powers?"

The raven-haired girl unstuck herself from the ceiling. "You're darn right!" she giggled, pointing to her red choker with a spider charm. "I go by Spinnerette!"

"And my codename is Monarch!" added Megan. 

Codename... wish I had one of those. Before I got too sad, I changed the subject. 

"Hey, Alexandra, do you get a roommate?" I asked my first friend here. 

"Let me check..." Alexandra said, walking to her door. "Uhhh... nope! Just me this year! I guess Jennifer did drop out!"

"Why would anyone drop out of here?" I asked. 

"She never ended up gaining her full powers," Megan explained. "Actually, I don't think she even knew what her powers even were! The staff just let her attend because both her older sisters have powers and they were assuming she'd have some, too. Since she was so embarrassed by her lack of powers, she left."

"Of course, it didn't help that her own roommate made fun of her," Val muttered. 

"Hey! I was just trying to have a little fun!" Alexandra whined when all eyes were on her before trying to change the subject. "Hey guys! I have an idea! Shelby's never been to this area before! Let's say we go out to dinner and show her around!"

"Sounds like a great idea!" Angela grinned. "Let's go to Bodega!"

"Roger that!" Alexandra said.  



	9. Sandwiches on Central

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby eats dinner!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Cuban cafe is a real eatery in St. Petersburg, and it is SO GOOD!!!

My roommates and I took our seats at the little Cuban cafe on Central Avenue after placing our orders. Angela suggested that I try the Cuban sandwich, their specialty, cooked extra crispy, so that's what I ordered. 

And my goodness, was that a good suggestion! The bread was so crispy, the cheese was so melty, and the pulled pork was TO DIE FOR. I'll definitely be coming back here. Hopefully with my new friends by my side. 

"So, Shelby, what's your power?" Angela asked me through a mouthful of food. 

"I have the power to create electricity, I guess," I told my friend. "I don't know, it's only ever happened twice."

Alexandra began to speak up. "She's really powerful!" she said after gulping down a bite of sandwich. "I was in San Diego for the last leg of my summer break, and out of nowhere, this girl in a devil costume threatened to take away my staff! I blasted her with ice, but she got back up and summoned some demon guys and they took it. Then Shelby ran out of this store, and zapped one of the demon guys and beat up the other one with a mop!"

"Hold up, a villain just asked you for your Snowflake Staff out of nowhere?" Val asked Alexandra. "Were you in your uniform?"

"Yeah, I was! Trying to get selfies for the official Avalanche Instagram!" Alexandra grinned as she pulled out her phone and began taking some selfies. 

Megan threw a balled-up napkin at her. "Girl, you can't just prance around in your superhero costume before you graduate from the Academy! That's just asking for supervillains to come find you!"

"But my followers want to see pictures of me in cool places!" Alexandra whined. 

"What, all two of them?" Angela chuckled. 

"I have more than two Instagram followers, Angela," Alexandra snapped. "I'd have more if you guys would start following me."

"For the last time, you can't make me create an Instagram," Angela muttered. "I don't have the money to buy expensive food to take pictures of all the time."

"Alexandra," I chimed in. "You can make me create an Instagram. I'd love to follow you!"

"Really? Oh you're a real one, Shelby!" Alexandra smiled from ear to ear. "Get your phone out, I'll help you create one!"

I pulled out my phone, but instantly, it started vibrating. My mom was checking up on me. 

"Oh, excuse me, I gotta take this call," I told everyone before excusing myself from the table and walking down the street. 

"Hey, Mom!" I answered her. 

"Hi Shelby! How is school?" she asked. 

"Oh, school hasn't started yet, Mom. Today's Sunday!" I informed her. "Things are great, though! I'm sharing a room with Alexandra and three other girls, and we all went to this amazing place and got Cuban sandwiches! Have you ever had one before? I can practically live on them they're so good!"

As I was rambling on, I heard a bunch of trash cans being knocked over around the corner of a building I was approaching, followed by yelling. 

An idea formed in my brain. If this was a mugging or something going on, I could jump into action and save the helpless victim and engage in combat with the mugger. Then, I'd gain my choker and have my admission to the Academy guaranteed. 

"Mom, I've gotta call you back," I said to my mother before hanging up. 

I peeked around the corner to see... the Green Devil!


	10. The Green Devil Strikes Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby attempts to battle the Green Devil!

It didn't take me long to realize that this was a bigger situation than I had anticipated. 

The Green Devil was right there, in the alley! How was she able to get all the way over here from San Diego in a day? Perhaps she took a plane or something, or maybe that pitchfork of hers has the same teleportation technology as Alexandra's Snowflake Staff, but since she was here, she was probably following her, and she needed to be stopped.  
Just to make sure, I eavesdropped on her conversation with a little girl, who was bombarding the villainess with questions. 

"Kid, please go away," the Green Devil sighed. 

"Why?" asked the little girl.

"Because, I'm on a mission," the Green Devil explained. 

"Cool! What kind of mission?" continued the little girl. 

"A mission to take something from someone who doesn't deserve it," the Green Devil explained to her. 

"Can I help?" the little girl offered. 

"What? No!" the Green Devil protested. "You shouldn't want to help me! That's stealing! I'm the bad guy!"

"Why do you want to be bad?" asked the little girl.

The Green Devil sighed. "My target has the audacity to call herself a hero. So if she's a hero, I must be a villain. Last I checked, she's eating dinner with her friends. I'm just waiting for them to leave so I can attack. And I need you gone so no one comes to try and foil my plans."

I couldn't think of a better opportunity to foil her plans. "HEY!" I shouted.

The Green Devil looked in my direction and sighed. "Aw nuts..."

"I heard everything, Green Devil," I said sternly. "And now that I know what you have planned, I have... something else planned."

"Ugh! This is exactly what I was afraid of," the Green Devil groaned as she pulled out her pitchfork. "Step aside, kid. This is going to get ugly."

"Don't even try," I snarled. "I have the power to stop you." I held out my palm to generate another shocking blast of electricity like the one that took down her demon yesterday, but even though I was focusing as hard as I could at the time, only a little bit of static came out and fell to the floor. "Oh come on..."

The Green Devil chuckled for a while, and the chuckle slowly morphed into a maniacal laugh. "You call that power? I'll show you power." 

She aimed her pitchfork at me, and instantly, I was surrounded by a emerald green aura. I started levitating, and then she swung her pitchfork and I went flying up to the ledge of a building. The green aura disappeared, and I was left hanging from this 30 foot building. 

Not going to lie, I was terrified. I've never been this close to death before, or at least this close to several broken bones, and it looked like it was coming sooner than I had hoped.

"Well, you wannabe hero, you're hanging on a ledge thirty feet off the ground. Who's gonna save you?" the Green Devil taunted me, adding insult to injury. 

I was losing my grip on the ledge, and I knew that whether I liked it or not, I was going to fall. As I was trying to decide which position would leave the least injuries upon hitting the ground, my arm got tired from being up in the air and I let go of the ledge. 

I closed my eyes and prepared for a crash landing, when instead I landed in the arms of a girl with a pair of huge orange butterfly wings. 

"Megan?!" I asked upon opening my eyes. 

"That's Monarch to you, girl!" Megan winked. Her glasses were gone and she was wearing a black and orange uniform. She flew me down to the ground, where the rest of my roommates were all in their uniforms. 

They all looked so epic in their outfits. I wished I was up there to join them. 

"Good, my target has arrived," the Green Devil smirked. She slammed her pitchfork on the pavement and her demon minions appeared once again. "Azazel, Diablo, take care of the others for me. I'll deal with Elsa."

An all out war began between my roommates and the Green Devil and her minions. Monarch, Phantom, and Spinnerette were taking on the demons while Avalanche faced off with the Green Devil herself. 

Val, who was wearing a monochrome flower crown and a flowing gray dress, turned into her ghost form and flew into one of the demons. He paused for a moment and then started punching himself, knocking himself out cold. 

Angela, who was wearing a black and red ensemble, webbed up the other demon and took out a syringe and injected him with a black liquid. This demon became violently ill and started vomiting everywhere. 

Since Val and Angela seemed to have the situation under control, Megan came to check up on me. 

"Are you okay, Shelby?!" she asked me. 

I would have answered, but I was too distracted by the battle going on before my eyes. The Green Devil was actually overpowering Alexandra. I almost couldn't look, but I knew I had to. 

"Monarch?! A little help?!" shouted Alexandra. 

"I'm on it!" Megan shouted before whipping out a fan like one a kunoichi would have and blowing the Green Devil away with a gust of wind. She was gone, and the battle was over.  
I barely did anything, and I was winded from watching all that, so I sat down on the pavement. 

"Are you okay, Shelby?" Megan asked again. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just feeling completely useless," I reassured her sarcastically. "It's just... I could have taken her down. I could have proven myself in combat and I'd be officially admitted to the Academy."

Val placed a hand on my shoulder. "Hey. It's okay. You still have until the Fall Dance."

"I guess so," I murmured. 

"Yeah! Maybe we can get a random stranger to pick a fight with you!" Angela chimed in. 

Megan checked her phone for the time. "Guys, it's getting late. Do you think we should go?"

Alexandra groaned. "Awww... that's no fun! The night is still young!"

Megan softly punched Alexandra in the shoulder. "Girl. The first day of class is tomorrow. We can't miss syllabus day."

Alexandra sighed. "Fine. Let's go home."


	11. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby makes a fool of herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This commences the third and final part of Electricutie: The Origin. This comes with some new characters, too!
> 
> Principal Meyerson is based off my high school principal, obviously. Ashley Bell is based off a classmate I had, and Liam Chambers is based off the first guy I liked in high school.

In a way, it's nice to know that most of the students at the Academy were basically just normal kids with powers. It makes me feel a little less out of place. As I walked down the halls of my dorm building, I thought about my first day of school outfit, which was a white sundress, a royal blue knit coat, and a pair of cute black ballet flats. I made sure that they were in the school colors so I would appear to have the most school spirit out of anyone there. 

Unfortunately, no one had told me the required dress code for homeroom on the first day of school were everyone's respective super uniforms, which, by the way, I didn't have yet. So much for fitting in. 

"Um, Megan?" I asked while standing in line to get into the lecture hall. "Why is everyone in costume?"

"Oh! It's for the Powers Showcase!" Megan informed me. "To show everyone what we've learned over the past year."

My blood ran cold. "Oh, does... EVERYONE have to participate?"

"Yep!" Megan confirmed. 

I just wanted to curl up and die right then and there. Oh boy, the perfect chance to do something embarrassing as a first impression to the entire sophomore class. Fan-freakin'-tastic.

Slowly, all the students proceeded into the lecture hall. All the architecture in the Academy sure knew how to make a person feel small. The ceiling was probably 50 feet high!  
I joined my roommates in the tiered seating section. There were probably about 70-80 kids in the room, all with incredibly unique super uniforms, as well as about 10 adults dressed in business casual clothing near the podium. Principal Meyerson approached it and a hush fell over the room. 

"Hello, wonderful sophomores. I hope you've all had a great summer," she greeted us. "For those of you who are new here, my name is Shirley Meyerson, and I'm the principal of the Academy for Enhanced Adolescents. I'm so glad to see that so many familiar faces returned for sophomore year. Before we go any further, let's take attendance. Megan Bautista?"

"Here!" shouted my friend Megan. 

Principal Meyerson checked off her name on the clipboard and called, "Ashley Bell?"

"Here." called a girl with blonde hair in a long flowing ponytail and a white futuristic ensemble.

Principal Meyerson made another mark on her clipboard. One more name was called before she called, "Jennifer Brown?"

After a few seconds of awkward silence, a deep voice answered, "I think she dropped out."

Upon hearing the voice, I had to turn my head to find the owner, and my goodness, he was the most adorable guy in the building. He had wavy red hair, piercing grey eyes, and a jumpsuit that made it seem like he has the power to control fire... and my heart. I had to find out his name. 

"Oh, that's a shame," Principal Meyerson said in response to the news of Jennifer dropping out. "Sam Bushati?"

The rest of attendance went by in a flash, since everyone else was here. I did find out that the handsomely voiced guy's name is Liam Chambers. I waited patiently to see what his power demonstration would be like. 

"Alright, now the part of the day everyone has been waiting for!" Principal Meyerson smiled. "The Powers Showcase. Megan, would you like to start us off?"

Megan used her butterfly wings to fly over to the podium. "Hi everyone, I'm Megan Bautista, but I also go by Monarch. I have butterfly wings, a Mariposa Fan, and I have the power to create gusts of wind." She used her fan to send a gentle breeze over the students. She then flew back to her seat and the crowd of students clapped gently. 

"Ashley?" called Principal Meyerson.

Ashley stood up and used rocket boosters on her boots to fly over to the podium. "Yo! I'm Ashley Bell, but I'm also known by Titanium, and Lil Pumpkin Spice on Soundcloud! One day, I discovered I was part robot. Wild, right? So then I got this choker, and now I can use my full abilities! I can fire energy blasts at anyone who tries to mess with me, use my Spectrum Blades to slice and dice if necessary, and I can fly with my rocket boosters!" 

An obstacle course appeared on the ground, and Ashley flew through it with ease, blasting targets, and slicing dummies. Once she completed it, she added, "And I can make a fire mixtape, but I can do that as Ashley, too! Deuces!" She flew back to her seat, and the crowd went wild. 

I was even more frightened now that I knew what I had to compete with. 

The Powers Showcase obviously took longer than attendance, and I couldn't remember everyone who demonstrated their powers, but a few people stood out. 

Liam's superhero name was Inferno, and he had the power to control fire and wielded a Kelvin Bow and Arrow. I guess that's why he's so hot! Sorry, that was silly. 

Alexandra went up and turned the lecture hall into a winter wonderland, Val used her Silverglow Shurikens to cut open a hole in the realm of the living and summoned a couple of friendly ghosts, and Angela swung across the room with her webs and showed off her Venom Syringe. 

Before I knew it, it was my turn to talk about my powers. Wonderful. After a brilliant display of robotic, atmospheric, fiery, icy, ghostly, and arachnid abilities, I had my... static.  
I walked over to the podium and took a deep breath before introducing myself. "Hello. I'm Shelby Morgan, and... well... it's my first year here, and I don't have a superhero name yet, but I do have the power to conjure electricity with my bare hands." 

I told myself to focus. "Some of those displays of powers were better than others, and it doesn't matter if I don't wow everyone, because I only just started here, and I shouldn't be expected to know everything," I told myself.

Feeling a little more confident, I held out my palm, hoping that at least a little static would come out, but instead, it was a volt of electricity, and it unfortunately shocked a guy in the first row of seats. 

Accidentally frying a classmate on the first day of school? That's what I would call a worst-case scenario. I was so embarrassed, I just left the lecture hall and started running as fast as I could into the nearest hiding space I could find.


	12. Bathroom Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby gets cheered up.

Well, that settled it. I knew I was going to be absolutely miserable at the Academy.

I mean, I just electrocuted one of my new classmates. I wasn’t sure how one recovers from a first impression like that. 

I couldn’t face the rest of my class after that, so I just ran straight into the girl’s restroom and started bawling my eyes out by the sinks. Like, not soft crying. Ugly crying. I was good at that. I think I cried more than most people. Scratch that, I KNOW I cried more than most people. 

I never understood people who only cried at like, their grandmother’s funeral or something ten years ago. How do you keep all those tears inside? Are you okay? Like, really okay? I wonder. 

The door to the girls’ restroom opened, and in came Alexandra, Megan, Val, and Angela. Oh heck no. I was not in the mood to talk to anyone, so I rushed into one of the open stalls in the bathroom and locked myself in. 

“Shelby, what’s going on?” asked Alexandra. 

“Leave me alone!” I screamed. “I don’t belong here.”

“Yes you do!” Alexandra argued. “Don’t tell me you don’t. You have major powers! You just shocked that guy for goodness sake!”

I banged my head against the stall door. “I know, but I’m never going to be able to control them. I shouldn’t even try,” I whined. 

“Really, Shelby? I didn’t know you were a quitter,” huffed Angela. “How long have you known you had powers?”

“Since Saturday,” I answered through sniffles. 

“That’s nothing! I’ve known I had powers for about a year!” Alexandra told me. “One hot summer day, I was walking outside when I wished it would cool off. Strangely enough, my wish came true! It started to snow!”

“I’ve known since my fifth birthday,” Megan added. “When I tried to blow out the candles on my cake, I literally blew my family to the other side of the room!”

“I first found out about my powers when I was seven,” Val told us. “My grandpa died and I was still able to talk to him from beyond the grave. Then I realized I could do other things with my powers, like summon spirits, and turn into a ghost myself.”

“I was twelve when I realized I was superhuman,” Angela sighed. “There was this boy I liked and I gave him a kiss… and poisoned him. He got better, if you were wondering.”

I saw a pair of blue sneakers walk closer to the stall door, and a hand clapped down on the door. 

“The point is, we’ve all had a lot more time to learn how to control our powers and gain our chokers,” Alexandra reassured me. “It’s not a race. You develop at your own pace.”

“You’re a poet, and don’t even know it!” Angela joked.

I sighed. “Okay, I think I’m ready to go back to orientation,” I proclaimed before unlatching the stall and walking out to the cheers of my friends. “Thanks for cheering me up, guys!”


	13. The Determinator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby goes to class.

We spent a couple more hours in the lecture hall for orientation. Mostly, it was just rules and regulations, but we also played a few icebreaker games. I learned a lot about my fellow classmates. Mostly that plenty of them found me annoying. I guess I'm too happy to be here, and it angers them? I was homeschooled for ten years. What do they expect?

After that was over with, I headed off to my first official class, Falling Victim Arithmetic in Room 216 in the Howlett Building. At first I was confused about this class, but then I realized that a superhero needs to know at what time to catch a victim falling to their death to avoid accidentally breaking their neck. Fun stuff. 

I tiptoed into the classroom and saw tables seating students in groups of four. I just chose an empty table and started glancing at the students seated all around me, and everyone looked so different. The girl in the flowing black dress from earlier was now in a laid back punk outfit. The girl in the wiry gray leotard was in a blue and white cheer uniform. And the boy in the red and orange ensemble was... wait... that was Liam Chambers!

Oh man, did he look fine! He had that same laid back punk style as the girl I mentioned earlier, with a Nirvana t-shirt, a red flannel over it, skinny jeans, converse, a wallet chain -- OOH! All that was enough to keep me interested for hours. 

I kept my eyes fixed on him for about two minutes straight before someone tapped on my shoulder, causing me to jump. 

"Oh! Angela! You're in this class, too?" I asked the girl with the panda headband standing in front of me. 

"You're staring at something," she remarked.

"Whoa! Cutting right to the chase, there, huh Angela?" I chuckled nervously, trying to hide my obvious crush on Liam. "I'm not staring at anything. Especially not Liam Chambers, nope!" That went swimmingly. 

Angela's curious look turned to a glare. "Dude, stop it right now."

"What?!" I whined. "Why?!"

"First of all, people notice when you stare at them without taking breaks," she explained to me. That should have been obvious to everyone, but it was news to me. "Secondly, Liam?! Really? His eyes are so big! He looks like a chihuahua! His head is so big, but his body is so skinny! It's like a cantaloupe balancing on a toothpick!"

I glanced at Liam. Everything Angela said was true.

I sighed. "Yeah... but I dig it."

Angela slapped her palm over her face. "Okay, here's something about Liam you probably didn't know. I've known him for a year, and honestly, he's not that great of a person. Plus, he's really just not into relationships. Apparently, a lot of other girls see something in him, god knows what, and many have tried and failed to win his heart. There's almost no chance you can be with him. Zero. Zip. Nada."

I sighed yet again. "Alright... I guess it's best that I focus on my studies anyway."

"Awesome! Come on, let's ace this class!" Angela grinned.

I took one more longing look at Liam. I knew I could make it work... somehow.


	14. I Just Got A Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby loses all hope.

I'd love to tell you that I aced all my tests and quizzes that first week of school, and that I even gained my choker during class or defended another student from a bully using my fists, but the truth is that none of that happened. 

A lot of the information taught in my classes builds off of coursework given to my peers last year, which I spent being homeschooled instead of here, so let's just say I didn't do very well on my assignments that week. 

Not only that, but a lot of the other students didn't really take a liking to me, which I did NOT expect. From what my parents told me, I'm a ray of sunshine and a delight to be around, but here...? Not so much. 

People would just ignore me when I spoke. An example of this is when I saw a couple of guys playing "rock paper scissors," and I, trying to start a conversation, said "You know, in England, they say 'paper scissors rock' instead." Interesting, right? Well, not to these delightful guys apparently, because they just stared at me like I was some sort of idiot. It's WAY worse with girls, too, because they will throw in an eye roll or something like that as well, to really invalidate you. I feel like everyone in this school is going to eat me alive. And I should probably just let them.

The final bell rang on Friday afternoon, and I made my way back to my bedroom as quickly as possible, collapsing onto my bed when I finally did get there. 

Yes. It was Friday. The day of the Fall Dance. No choker, no combat, no permanent acceptance to the Academy. Just me, mourning the loss of my future. I would have to go back to being homeschooled and spend the rest of my life working in my family's pharmacy, since no university in their right mind would accept a girl with no grade point average. 

And if you were wondering if things were going any better on the romantic front, they weren't. Liam still hasn't noticed me, despite me CLEARLY putting myself out there for the taking. It's like boys are oblivious to everything. Oh wait, they are. 

I heard the door to my bedroom open, and I turned my head to see Megan. She looked at me, almost in pity and sighed. "Shelby, you really should get out of bed. It's 2:30 in the afternoon."

I smothered my face into my pillow. "Ugh, Megan, you sound like my mom," I groaned. "Why even try? I'm going to get kicked out of here, since I haven't proved myself. I don’t want to face any of these people anymore. I just need to go back where I came from and lead my boring life like nothing ever happened."

Megan sighed again. "Well, if that's how you feel, then I can't really do anything about it, now can I?" 

"You can't," I answered. 

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," she muttered. "At least read the letter someone slid under our door for you."

"A letter?" I asked.


	15. Not A Loser

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby has a date!

I stumbled into the commons area of my dorm room in a tired stupor. Sitting in different classrooms all day sure can make a person tired.

There, sitting by the front door was an envelope with a green wax seal and my name in calligraphy written on it. I thought that was odd. When Megan said there was a letter, I was assuming it would be a notice that I wasn't going to be able to stay at the Academy, but this looked more like an old-timey love letter. Apparently, Alexandra assumed the same thing. 

"Finally picking up that love letter, Shelby?" asked Alexandra, who was sitting at the kitchenette table with Val and Angela playing Go Fish.

I paused. What if it was a love letter? Or maybe the Academy is just really nice when they expel students... Either way, the news inside the envelope could be life-changing, and I wasn't about to risk misreading the words. 

"Alexandra, I can't open it myself," I cried, running to the table and handing her the envelope. "Read it for me!"

She took the envelope from me and ripped it open, revealing a piece of parchment inside. Yeah. Not just any regular paper. Parchment with more calligraphy written on it. Whoever sent the letter meant serious business.

"Dearest Shelby," Alexandra read in a phony British accent."Ever since I first laid eyes on you, I've been watching you from afar. It's quite unusual for bees and butterflies not to notice a beautiful forget-me-not like you. It would be an honor if you accompanied me to the Fall Dance tonight. I won't take no for an answer. See you at six." Then she dropped the accent in disbelief. "Sincerely... Liam Chambers?"

I started giggling incessantly. "Oh man, that's funny! Nice one, Alexandra! The British accent was really convincing!"

Val looked at the letter, and her eyes widened. "That wasn't a joke, Shelby. That's actually what it says."

I looked at the letter as well. That is indeed what it said. Liam Chambers wants ME as his date to the Fall Dance. 

I pumped my fist in the air in victory. "YES! I knew I could get him to like me!!"

Angela blinked, her mouth slightly agape. "I... I don't believe it. The whole of last year, he's never been into anyone, and now all of a sudden, he takes a liking to the girl that accidentally zapped someone on the first day? The girl who spilled ketchup on her dress at lunch?"

"Okay, I get it, Angela. I'm embarrassing," I sighed. But she continued.

"The girl whose ringtone is Bring Me To Life by Evanescence?" she asked after listing numerous other embarrassing things I did this week alone. 

"That song is a classic!" I shouted. 

"Chill, Angela!" Alexandra laughed. "This is an amazing thing that happened to you, Shelby! I mean, which one of us has ever gotten a letter written in calligraphy with a... green wax seal? Huh, usually the wax is red. But anyway, who's gotten one of those before? None of us! None of us except you, that is! Have you ever been on a date before, Shelby?"

"No!" I panicked. "I don't even know what I would do!"

"I figured about as much!" Alexandra smirked. "Well, at least you have one now. This means, you HAVE to go to the Fall Dance. Do you have a dress?"

"I have some sundresses in my closet," I said, gesturing to my bedroom.

"That won't do, nope!" Alexandra said. "Come on, girls! We're going to the mall!"


	16. He's Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam's here!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Tyrone Square Mall. It was a few blocks from the school, so we just walked. The Florida heat was killing me. So much more humid than California. 

We visited Macy's for our dresses, and since I had no idea what I was doing, the girls picked out a dress for me. Alexandra tried to point me towards some of the more mainstream looking dresses, but I was drawn towards a very unique dress that seemed to be the last of its kind. 

This dress was lolita-styled, and was white, black, red, and gold, which, coincidentally, were some of Liam's favorite colors. I had to have it. 

After buying our dresses, we all arrived back at our dorm to get ready for the dance. I think most of the focus was on me, however, since this was my first high school dance, and my first date, I needed to look my best. 

Alexandra did my hair, and even though she was kind of upset I asked for pigtails, my hair had never looked more glamorous. Megan did my nails, and she even put little rhinestones on them. Angela did my makeup, so I looked on... top? No, on point! And Val taught me how to walk in heels, since she's 4'9" and it's a way of life for her to wear heels all the time. 

We all took a selfie on Alexandra's phone before there was a knock at the door. It had to be Liam. 

In an instant, I started panicking. "Oh man, he's here! What do I do?"

Alexandra put her hands on my shoulders. "Okay, first step, stay calm."

I didn't listen and immediately started whimpering. 

"Or at least try to be!" she muttered.

Megan ushered Alexandra out of the way. "Okay, make sure to call us if things go left. If you feel unsafe talking about what's going on, just text us the word 'fuzz' and one of us will call you and make up a family emergency or something like that. Does anyone else have anything to add?"

"Take some breathmints," Val suggested, pulling a box of Altoids out of her purse. "Not saying anything about you specifically, but they're always good to have on a date."

"And, most importantly? Be yourself!" Angela smiled. "He obviously likes that! Now, don't keep him waiting! It's go time!"

I took a shaky breath and strutted to the door. I couldn't believe it. My first date was happening, and it was with the most handsome guy in school. 

I opened the door, and there was Liam standing there, dapper as can be. His wavy brown hair was parted to one side slightly, and his gorgeous grey eyes were looking right at me. Interestingly enough, he was wearing red, white, black, and gold, exactly the colors I was wearing. We were going to be the cutest couple at the dance. 

I regret this now, but I couldn't control myself, so I tackled him to the ground with a hug. "Where have you been all my life?" I asked. 

Even though he was just severely glomped, he was still so composed, and still had that sly and slightly tired look he always had on his face. "Let's go, shall we?" he asked. 

We both stood up and brushed ourselves off, and he held out his hand, and then I took it, and aaaaaahhhhh I can't even think clearly because I'm still so excited that this even happened. Asdfghjkl!! That's text lingo for OH MY GOODNESS I GOT TO HOLD HANDS WITH A CUTE GUY!!!

He and I began to walk away, but I took a look back at my friends, who were all cheering for me! I shot them a thumbs up, and walked into the distance with Mr. Chambers.


	17. The Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's an impostor.

The dorm room Liam led me into was a typical boy's dorm room, I guess. He shared it with five other boys, and it was pretty sloppy. Not dirty, but sloppy. I was wondering why he took me here.  
  
"And this is my bedroom," Liam said as he opened the door to his bedroom, revealing two beds, a closet, two desks, and assorted other items strewn about. "Santiago is my roommate."  
  
"I don't know who that is," I replied. "Why are we here? There's a dance going on, you know."  
  
Liam proceeded to take my hand again. "Have you ever danced before?"  
  
A faint blush covered my face. I was at a loss for words, or intelligent ones at least, so I said, "Does the chicken dance count?" as I folded my arms and flapped them. Way to go, Shelby.  
  
Liam placed his palm on my shoulder, and I stopped. "No, like ballroom dancing. Ever done that?"  
  
"I--I can't say I have," I stuttered.  
  
The handsome guy held out his hand and said, "I have to teach you right now, then."  
  
Shyly, I reached out and took his hand, heart pounding with nervousness. This is the closest I've been with anyone I've had a crush on, and I've only ever had a crush on Janell from the comic book store back home.  
  
He pulls out a phone and turns on Ariana Grande's "The Way," which I think perfectly describes how I feel about him.  
  
We started swaying back and forth to the music, and I sang along to the lyrics in my head.

_You give me that kind of something_  
Want it all the time, need it everyday  
On a scale of one to ten I'm at 100  
Never get enough, I can't stay away

"AAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"  
  
I opened my eyes, but maybe the scream was just a sound effect in the song.

_If you want it, I got it, I got it everyday_  
You can get whatever you need from me  
Stay by your side, I'll never leave you  
And I ain't going nowhere 'cause you're a keeper

I heard the scream again. There was no way this was actually part of the song.  
  
"What was that?" I asked.  
  
Liam broke away from me. "Um, nothing!" He turned up the volume on the speaker the love song was playing on.  
  
While he was doing that, I ran towards the source of the noise, his closet, and opened it up to find... Liam bound and gagged? I was so confused.  
  
I turned around to the sound of snarling. The dapper looking Liam I had just been dancing with was no longer there, and a green demon had taken his place.  
  
The demon picked me up and tossed me into the closet with Liam and then locked the door.  
  
I turned to Liam and pulled the gag out of his mouth. "Mind telling me what just happened?" I asked in a strong voice.  
  
He took a deep breath before retelling what happened. "Jennifer Brown. She came to my door with a demon, and they tied me up and threw me in the closrt. They said something about sending you a love letter with my name on it to lure you over here so they could trap you and prevent you from fighting her off when she attacks the dance tonight."  
  
Jennifer Brown... the girl who dropped out? She came over with a demon? At that moment, it all made sense. Jennifer Brown was the Green Devil, and she was out to seek revenge on Alexandra for making fun of her in freshman year.  
  
"Also, I have a question," Liam said. "You have a crush on me?"  
  
I froze, remembering just who I was talking to. "Um... yeah. You know, if you want to go on a date sometime, just let me know. I'll clear my schedule, I'll put makeup on--"  
  
"Oh, that won't be necessary," Liam informed me. "I'm not very interested in commitment.  
  
My heart sank. All this time fawning over him... wasted. "Oh... okay then." I slumped down, and my eyes started to water.  
  
"Seriously?" Liam asked. "You're going to let a rejection stop you from saving your friends from the dance? Wow... that's pathetic."  
  
I looked up. That was really rude of him to say, but he had a point. "Fine," I said before untying him.  
  
He kicked open the doors holding us in, to reveal a skinny, startled boy with glasses. That must have been Santiago.  
  
The boy's face morphed into a smirk. "Well, I see you two had fun," he said referring to the fact we were in the closet together. Apparently Santiago is a pervert. We just ignored him.  
  
"Thanks, Liam. I owe you one. We have to go stop Jennifer from ruining the party!" I told Liam.  
  
"Alright. You go there first. I'll catch up," Liam told me.  
  
I looked at him in confusion. "Excuse me?"  
  
Liam gestured to his outfit. "Do you think I'm dressed for a dance? I don't think so. Give me time to get ready, and I'll be right there."  
  
I didn't even have anything to say to that, because it was just such a ludicrous thought. Get dressed up to fight? He sure has an interesting thought process.  
  
I stormed off. I wasn't sure how I was going to defeat her, but I had to figure something out. 


	18. Save the First Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story's over YAYYAYAYAYYYYY!

I stood at the entrance to the Fall Dance. Students in semi-formal outfits were scattered all around the ballroom. Some were dancing, some were chatting happily, some were... making out... and others were eating the chicken nuggets being served at the refreshments table. Luckily, I spotted Megan, Val, and Angela over there, but unfortunately, no sign of Alexandra...

I weaved past streamers and grinding couples to find the trio so I could question them. "Guys, where's Alexandra?" I asked frantically. 

Megan swallowed the chicken nugget she was eating, and said, "Last I saw, one of the upperclassmen was chatting her up."

I scanned the ballroom for any sign of Alexandra, who was wearing a grey and ice blue two piece dress. Thankfully, I found her, but at the absolute last minute, because she was leaving with some tall, dark, and handsome senior boy.

I bolted past the festivities and to the exit, when I heard a high pitched scream coming from a janitor's closet. A big green demon burst out of the door of the closet holding the Snowflake Staff and began to walk towards the dance.

My first instinct was to find out if Alexandra was okay. Soon enough, she came running out of the closet in her Avalanche outfit after the demon.

"ALEXANDRA!" I shouted. 

The ice queen ran over to me and hugged me. "Oh my goodness, Shelby. That demon just took my Staff from me. He's too strong for me to stop him. What do we do?"

"I don't know, but I found out who the Green Devil is! It's Jennifer Brown!" I revealed to her. 

"What? Oh man... how did I not see that coming?" Alexandra muttered. "We've got to go in there before the dance is ruined."

Several screams of panic arose from the ballroom. 

"I think we're too late," I added. 

We ran over to the ballroom to find the Green Devil standing in the middle of the room holding the Snowflake Staff before several cowering party-goers hiding behind tables and in corners. 

"Each one of you has wronged me in some wayl," Jennifer snarled. "And I'm going to single all of you out, one by one, just like what has happened to me... hm... who should I pick first? I know! Anna Morales!"

Someone pushed a girl with brown frizzy hair out of her hiding space. She cowered before Jennifer. 

"Anna Morales, codename Botanica," Jennifer smirked. 

"I don't understand why you're calling me out, I haven't done anything to you!" Anna protested. 

"YOU LAUGHED AT ME!" Jennifer roared before freezing Anna with the staff before continuing nonchalantly. "Now who's next? Ah, yes... Alexandra Green-Cooper!"

After seeing what she did to that Anna girl, I ran into the ballroom and kicked Jennifer down. Her mask fell off, revealing her true identity. 

Alexandra charged into the room shortly after. "Whoa, you were right, Shelby!" she gasped when she saw Jennifer's face.

"Your reign of terror is over, Jennifer!" I shouted at the tall blonde girl on the floor. "What are you going to do, freeze Alexandra? What did she ever do to you, huh?"

Jennifer glared at me as she got up from the ground. "Listen, zappy. If you knew what Alexandra was really like, you wouldn't be defending her like that."

"What are you talking about?" I asked in my best tough girl voice. 

"You and I have more common than you might think. I was a new student at the Academy, just like you, and I wasn't able to gain my choker either," Jennifer explained to me. "Through the months of embarrassment here, it would have been easier if I had at least had some friends. But no. I was bullied. Relentlessly. And you know who spearheaded those attacks? My own roommate, Alexandra Green-Cooper."

I looked at Alexandra in disbelief. Tears were streaming down her face. 

"It's all true. Jennifer. I'm really, really sorry. I was immature, and I still am, and I know that's not an excuse for what I did, but I promise, I will never do anything like that ever again. 

Jennifer sighed and looked down at the ground. Just when I thought she was about to give it up, she froze Alexandra into a block of ice. 

"JENNIFER!" I screamed. "She apologized!"

Jennifer chuckled coldly. "No one said I had to accept that," she taunted as she swung the Staff at my head. 

The blow from the Staff knocked me to the ground, and as I opened my eyes, I saw electric pulses surrounding me. I sat down on the ground and tried to keep my head from spinning. I looked up to help me regain my balance, and I saw this strange piece of blue cloth floating down from the ceiling. I focused in on it, and it was a blue choker with a yellow lightning bolt charm, and that was enough to make me stand up. 

"MY CHOKER!!!" I squealed.

I was desperate to grab the choker out of the air, clasp it around my neck, and press the lightning bolt charm. When I did, I began emanating a yellow light, and my white, gold, red, and black party dress morphed into a yellow and blue ensemble with a tutu skirt and sneaker boots. This had to be the most thrilling moment of my life! I was ready to kick the Green Devil's butt once and for all, and I was wearing a cute new outfit to boot. 

I glared at Jennifer, and she actually looked somewhat frightened, a look I had never seen before on her face. She pulled out her pitchfork and charged at me, and without thinking, I crossed my arms over my face. Somehow, this created an electrical force field that sent her flying back once she collided with it.

Apparently, she wasn't done yet, because she returned to her feet, albeit slowly. I doubted a force field would work a second time, so I was trying to plan my next attack, but before I could come up with a solid plan, something materialized in front of me in midair. When the glowing yellow light emanating from it dissipated, it was revealed to be a bow and arrow! So cool!

I've never shot a bow and arrow before, but I took a shot at Jennifer, and instead of the arrow piercing her skin, it acted as a taser, and she fell to the ground. 

I ran over to her, yanked the arrow off her, and held her down with my foot. Once again, using my best tough girl voice, I said, "Unfreeze Alexandra. Now."

Squirming, she said, "I can't! I don't know how to unfreeze anyone with that thing!"

"Really?" asked a voice at the front of the room. I turned, and it was Liam in a suit and tie. "You all are still at this? I thought this whole thing would have subsided by now." He took a glance at me. "And you look like that now... Huh."

I looked down bashfully at my sneaker boots. He noticed my outfit!! Eeeeeee -- wait. There was a job to be done. 

"Liam! You have fire powers! Unfreeze Alexandra!" I told him.

He groaned. "Ugh, fine." He pressed his belt buckle (the guys get belt buckles instead of chokers) and transformed into Inferno. I could never get tired of seeing that. Then, he pulled out his bow and arrow and shot a flaming arrow at the ice cube Alexandra was trapped in. 

The cube was vaporized instantly, and Alexandra was freed. 

"I'm free!" she shouted. "And ready to party!" She then glanced at the ice cube Anna was still trapped in before turning to Liam. "Um, I think you forgot something."

"Right," Liam agreed before shooting another flaming arrow at her ice cube, freeing Anna. 

Footsteps approached from the doorway to the ballroom. Principal Meyerson was here and ready to dole out some punishment. 

"I leave for fifteen minutes, and this happens?" she asks angrily while staring at Jennifer, who was still laying on the floor. "Jennifer Brown! I can't believe you've come back to visit this school just to terrorize your former classmates. My office. Now."

Jennifer groaned, arose from her spot on the carpet, and trudged out of the ballroom. 

"And... Shelby? Is that you?" Principal Meyerson asked me in disbelief. 

"Yeah, I--I'm surprised, too!" I stammered. 

"Principal Meyerson?" Alexandra spoke up. "Jennifer was going to use my Snowflake Staff to freeze everyone here, and Shelby saved us all!"

Principal Meyerson's face lit up. "Is that so? Well, then. Shelby, what you've done is incredibly brave and heroic. You have successfully gained your full powers and have proven yourself in combat. This means you are welcome to stay at the Academy."

Finally! The words I had been waiting for her to say since I got here last week. I started jumping up and down and cheering, and Alexandra, Megan, Val, and Angela joined me.   
The festivities began again soon, and this night went from awful to amazing in the matter of a half hour. Me and my new friends all take a group picture to commemorate this night and my acceptance to the Academy. 

Before the night was over, I had one more question for Principal Meyerson. Now that I had a superhero outfit and a choker, what is my codename going to be?

I asked her, and she said...

"Electricutie."

"WHAT?!"


End file.
